


Exposed Lies

by tahliaisnotonfire



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Dangan Ronpa Spoilers, Flirting, Fluff, How Do I Tag, Idk other tags, Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), M/M, Oma Kokichi Is a Little Shit, Ouma not Oma, Shy Saihara Shuichi, Swearing, based in Chapter 4, come on. miu is in this, hint of harukaito, saiouma, v3 manga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 03:20:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28736376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tahliaisnotonfire/pseuds/tahliaisnotonfire
Summary: Iruma Miu invents a Lie Detector wrist watch for Saihara Shuuichi to use the next time he has a chat with a certain Liar.Maybe now, he will finally see through to the real Ouma Kokichi.~ based on a section in the New Danganronpa V3 Comic Anthology ~~ spoilers ~
Relationships: Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 153





	Exposed Lies

**Author's Note:**

> i apologise if any of the japanese translation of names etc are wrong, i hope this is okay though. for some reason, i felt more comfortable writing their names the japanese traditional way, but for other stories, i may just go with first names. depending. thanks all for reading though, if anyone does.
> 
> this was written for my own entertainment and to force a friend to read.
> 
> ~~~

"You really think you can make it, Iruma-san?"

Saihara Shuuichi asked the blonde girl, Iruma Miu, who huffed and snatched the wristwatch from his hands that he found in the warehouse.

"Pfft, of course I can, you virgin! This'll be easier than taking a shit!" She laughed obnoxiously in Saihara's face, in which he responded with an awkward smile and reached up to put a hand in his hair. _Iruma really was something else..._

"You want me to make this dumb watch into a lie detector type thing, right? I'm guessing you want this for that little bitch brat Ouma, huh? I don't know why you'd give a shit about anything he has to say, truth or lie, but whatever. So when do you need this finished by?" Iruma asked the timid boy, who perked up at the question and cleared his throat. He ignored the rude comments Iruma mentioned.

"Um, just whenever you can... I really appreciate you doing this, Iruma-san," Saihara replied, and he thought for a moment Iruma's face flushed a shy red, but it was gone before he could say for sure.

Iruma cocked her head to the side, examining the watch in her hand before speaking. "Whatever. I can probably get it to you by tomorrow morning. After that shit announcement."

"Really? That would be great!" Saihara exclaimed and smiled softly. Iruma coughed and shook her hand in front of Saihara's face.

"But _don't_ forget to pick it up here at my lab! Otherwise it's going in the fucking trash, along with you, Stupidhara!" Iruma shouted before turning her back on Saihara, stepping inside her Ultimate laboratory, and slamming the door shut.

Saihara sighed. _At least Iruma was willing to even make him the invention in the first place... he thought for sure she'd turn him away and call him a dumb moron or something along those lines._

He turned on his heel and began walking back towards the courtyard of the school. His mind wandered off to thoughts of a certain violet-haired boy. How much he'd be able to learn about that boy when he gets his hand on that watch.

Saihara hoped Iruma's invention would work, even for just a couple minutes. Long enough for Saihara to learn something about Ouma Kokichi. Something for him to learn more about the liar's real character.

Lost in thought, Saihara climbed the stairs and walked towards the dormitory. Before he could push the double doors open, he heard a voice sound from behind him.

"Saihara-chan! I've been looking all over for you!"

Saihara knew that voice from anywhere. He turned his head to see a boy walking over to him from the front entrance to the school building. He had a shit eating grin plastered on his lips as he approached Saihara. Before long, he was standing in front of him.

He was wearing that signature white uniform with the checkered scarf sitting on his chest. He had an innocent look on his face, his hands behind his back and eyes closed whilst smiling. Saihara hated to admit it, but he loved seeing Ouma's smile even though half the time, he knew it was fake. Saihara didn't think he'd ever seen Ouma truly happy; or sad, for that matter. It was, for the most part, a fake reaction. But seeing his smile in that moment still made Saihara's heart melt. Just a bit.

"Hey, Ouma-kun," Saihara greeted Ouma, to which the boy responded with a raised eyebrow and brought his hands behind his head.

"So where have you been? You and that ugly bitchlet I forgot the name of didn't show up for lunch in the dining hall. I was so worried about my beloved Saihara-chan!" Ouma's grin returned, and Saihara didn't know if he could keep the blush from appearing on his cheeks. He knew Ouma had to be lying, but it still made his heart flutter when the other boy made comments like that. He also decided to ignore the rude comment regarding Iruma.

"O-Oh. Um, I was just, uh... you know..." Saihara's voice trailed off as he tried coming up with a lie.

If Ouma found out he was with Iruma, he'd know something was up. But Ouma could probably already tell Saihara wasn't going to tell the truth in the first place.

"Come on, Saihara-chaaaan. If you were being a pervert with her, you can fess up now!" Ouma joked and Saihara's eyes widened in embarrassment.

"N-No! T-That's not... I haven't seen Iruma-san all day..." Saihara lied whilst looking at the floor. He heard a small hum from Ouma.

"I was... er... a-at the casino."

Saihara punched himself mentally for coming up with such a stupid lie. It was simple, yet so utterly dumb. He hadn't stepped foot in that casino since it first opened up to everyone, but he hoped Ouma would take the bait. He decided to turn his head back up to Ouma, waiting for a reaction.

The purple-eyed boy stared him down for a moment, before nodding his head with a smile. It was a quick reaction change.

"That sounds like a great time, Saihara-chan! You shouldn't spend so much time there though. Soon enough, you'll have a gambling addiction like me!" Ouma stated and pointed to himself. Saihara's eyes widened.

"W-What? Ouma-kun, you have a gambling addiction?" Just as Saihara thought he was learning something new about Ouma, the boy giggled and put a hand on Saihara's shoulder.

"Nishishi~! Poor Saihara-chan, you're stupidly gullible, aren't ya? Of course it's a lie! Evil supreme leaders don't have time for gambling! I'm too busy working on a bunch of secret plans to take over the world," Ouma's voice lowered near the end of his sentence as he brought a finger to his lips with his free hand and smirked. 

Saihara sighed and looked Ouma dead in the eyes.

"That was _also_ another lie, wasn't it?"

"Hmm? Who knows? You figure it out, Mister Detective! Isn't that what your talent is for?" Ouma cocked his head to the side, the smug look on his face only growing more. Saihara shuffled awkwardly from where he was standing. Ouma took his hand off Saihara's shoulder and took a step back, returning his hands to his sides.

Saihara wasn't in the right mindset to deal with Ouma's lies at that moment. Although it was past lunch time, he was exhausted. He needed a nap.

"You're difficult to figure out, Ouma-kun," Saihara responded. He was about to turn around and walk into the dormitory when he was stopped once again by a hand grabbing his own. Saihara made a surprised gasp and turned to see Ouma standing close to him and holding Saihara's hand softly in his. _How did he get that close so quickly...?_

"If it means I get to be on Saihara-chan's mind all day, then I'll happily keep this lying up until he can figure me out!" Ouma's smirk never left his face.

Saihara nearly missed what the boy said. His thoughts were too busy swirling at the thought of Ouma holding his hand. He felt his face warm up as he turned to look away from Ouma, hoping he wouldn't catch the blush spreading quickly on his cheeks.

Saihara had a troubling time finding anywhere else to look other than Ouma's deep purple eyes. They were right there in front of him, and he lost the ability to speak a singular sentence in that moment.

"I uh..." Saihara began to speak but Ouma cut him off with a giggle.

"You should come to the dining hall and eat something. Everyone was sooooo sad when you didn't show up! Even Momota-chan cried!" Ouma tugged on Saihara's hand, motioning towards the dining hall before screwing his face up to look like he was about to cry.

Saihara nearly got concerned but remembered who Ouma Kokichi was. When he realised Saihara wasn't reacting to Ouma's actions, he smiled and let go of Saihara's hand. The warmth of Ouma's hand disappeared immediately, and Saihara wished he could reach out and grab it again. His lack of self confidence said otherwise, and both his arms remained stiff to his sides.

"But that's just a lie! Nobody misses you, Saihara-chan! Or maybe... _that_ was the lie? Nishishi~! We'll never know," Ouma beamed with the most innocent look Saihara had ever seen on the shorter boy.

_By tomorrow, that won't be true anymore... I'll see through your lies, Ouma Kokichi._

He decided to give in. His nap could wait a while longer.

"Um... I'll be there in a minute. I need to grab something from my room first," Saihara replied and Ouma's smile widened in response.

When Saihara turned to walk into the dormitory that time, nobody stopped him. The last thing he heard before entering his bedroom was Ouma's voice calling out to him.

"By the way, you should work on your lies, Saihara-chan! You know I hate liars!"

Saihara couldn't help but chuckle at those words. Of course Ouma saw straight through Saihara with the obvious casino lie. Nobody could get past Ouma Kokichi with their lies. But in the back of Saihara's mind, he hoped that would change the next morning and get through Ouma's own lies in return.

~

Saihara eventually arrived at the dining hall, just as he said he would. His best friend, Momota Kaito was still there, who waved to Saihara and motioned for the boy to sit over beside him. Momota kept a plate of omurice (omelette rice) for him, which he was grateful for and thanked him. Harukawa Maki was also sitting in the same area, and she gave a small smile upon seeing Saihara arrive. It was rare to see Harukawa smile, but when she did, it was a nice sight to see. Momota had done a good job at helping her open up to people.

Except for Ouma.

She and Momota disliked Ouma. Even after countless times of Saihara trying to convince them he wasn't that bad of a guy and they just needed to get to know him, it didn't work. Saihara made it one of his missions to get Momota and Harukawa warmed up to Ouma, and have the same in return. Ever since Ouma revealed Harukawa's true identity to the group, he acted differently towards her. Saihara didn't know the reasoning behind it, even when he tried to ask him. Of course, Ouma was full of lies and Saihara didn't get a single truth out of him.

It was hard hiding his feelings for Ouma from his two best friends. He wished he could ask them for advice, but he already knew what the responses would be.

_"You like that little brat? He's nothing but trouble, Saihara-kun!"_

_"This is stupid. Did he drug you or something?"_

Saihara sighed thinking about it, before continuing to eat his omelette. He glanced up around the dining room, taking in everyone's faces. Gokuhara Gonta, Yumeno Himiko and Shirogane Tsumugi were all sitting with each other, talking amongst themselves about Atua-knows-what. He noticed they were smiling, and it made Saihara smile in return. Seeing his friends happy made him think it was all worth it. Working together to escape the killing game, and avenge all of their friends who had sadly passed.

_Akamatsu Kaede included..._

He missed her. So much.

But all of his hard work up to that point was for her.

For Akamatsu.

He wouldn't give up.

Saihara turned the thought away in his mind before he could get upset, and turned his head to the other side of the room. He held in a chuckle when he saw Ouma annoying Kiibo. He could slightly hear their conversation, something regarding '-here if robots can't eat? You don't even know what food tastes like!' and '-robophobic! I can be here if I want!'

Ouma noticed Saihara staring due to looking up mid conversation and tossed him a smirk with an over exaggerated wave. Saihara blushed softly and gave a small wave back in return. He saw Ouma giggle, but he couldn't hear it, and watched as he turned back to his conversation with Kiibo. The robot didn't look too happy about that and slouched in his seat.

Saihara was almost jealous of Kiibo. Not to be annoyed by Ouma, but to be in Ouma's presence.

He loved sitting with Momota and Harukawa, but sometimes he wished all four of them could sit together without an argument starting the second a word is said.

He felt his mind start slipping, but Momota pulled him back to reality. He snapped his fingers in front of Saihara's face and put his other hand on his back.

"Shuuichi! Where'd my best bro go, huh?" Momota shook Saihara a little too hard without realising. On the other hand, Saihara did.

"W-Woah, woah! I'm listening, I'm listening," Saihara grit his teeth together and sighed, looking over at Momota and Harukawa.

"You were spacing out pretty bad there. More than usual. Everything alright, sidekick?" Momota asked with a concerned frown plastered on his face.

Saihara glanced behind Momota to see Harukawa glaring at him. She flicked her eyes towards Ouma and Kiibo then back to him, and Saihara's heart skipped a beat. _She knew something was up._

He turned his attention back to Momota and gave the astronaut a small smile. "Yeah, everything's fine. Just got a lot on my mind lately," he replied.

Momota seemed a little suspicious in response to Saihara's answer, but he quickly brushed it off and grinned, wrapping an arm around the detective.

"Good to hear! If you ever need to talk though, don't hesitate to come talk to me! For I, Momota Kaito, Luminary of the Stars, will always put my friends first!" Momota exclaimed and Saihara couldn't help but laugh when he heard Harukawa sigh beside them.

"You're an idiot..." the twintails girl mumbled under her breath, but not quiet enough for Momota to miss her words.

"I-Idiot?! Come on, Harumaki, you promised you wouldn't call me that anymore!" Momota frowned, wrapping his other free arm around her.

She seemed to freeze up at the touch and stopped eating her meal for a moment. Her hands stopped mid air whilst bringing the fork up to her mouth.

"Do you want to die?" The words from Harukawa made Momota chuckle more than anything and hugged her closer.

Saihara noticed her cheeks turn red, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he turned his attention back to the food in front of him and finished it off, all whilst grabbing a glance of Ouma once or twice when he could.

~

The next day arrived quicker than Saihara thought. He groaned at the sound of the Monokumarz's morning announcement, not caring to listen to what they had to say anymore. It was all nonsense, by that point.

He tossed his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, making his way to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

The rest of Saihara's day beforehand wasn't all that interesting. He spent some time with Momota and Harukawa exploring more of the school, most being the same places they had already searched at some point. Nothing new was open yet, as the Monokumarz hadn't given them any useless junk to investigate with. Saihara assumed they had to wait for new places until then. Whilst walking down one of the hallways, the trio came across Ouma Kokichi, who acted really surprised to see the three of them together. Momota instantly called Ouma out for stalking them, to which Ouma replied with his signature laugh, not before calling Momota an idiot.

Saihara couldn't help but smile at the back and forth the two boys were having, as he watched from behind Momota. He was getting nervous of Harukawa, though. Saihara _knew_ that the girl had suspicions something was up, but she hadn't said anything. Maybe she didn't want to embarrass Saihara with the fact that she hated Ouma with a burning passion, and it would _not_ go down well if Saihara admitted to crushing on the violet-haired boy. But maybe she wasn't saying anything because she respected Saihara and wanted him to make his own decisions. He doubted the latter, but it still made him feel better than thinking of the first option.

He was deep in thought by that point that he hadn't noticed Ouma tugging on the detective's sleeve and calling his name. Before he could process and answer the smaller boy, Momota dragged Saihara away, with Harukawa following shortly behind. His thought process was slow, but he managed to catch the last thing Ouma said.

_"Awhhh, Saihara-chan ignored me! How cruel!"_

Saihara cringed at the memory. He didn't mean to ignore the boy. Well... it _was_ his fault in the first place for making Saihara fall deep in thought. _And fall in more ways than one._

By dinner time that night, Saihara managed to catch Ouma and apologised for ignoring him earlier. Ouma could only laugh for a moment, then his face turned completely blank. Saihara was genuinely impressed with how quick Ouma could change emotion with his facial features. He started ranting about how it was a lie and he didn't actually care about Saihara overall. But immediately after saying it, he followed it up with ' _don't worry, Saihara-chan! It's just another lie! You know, since I'm a liar.'_ To top it off, he had that shit eating grin on those lips Saihara caught himself looking way too often. Sometimes it hurts to hear the person you care about so much say things like that, but Saihara had to constantly tell himself it was another one of Ouma's petty lies. Even when Ouma admitted to the lie, he still had trouble believing it.

Some days, he was scared they could have a hint of truth to them. Maybe Ouma's personality had gotten so deep in his brain that it was turning into reverse psychology. Saihara's heart hurt at the thought. He hoped to any Atua watching over him that it wasn't true, and Ouma cared for Saihara, even a little. Deep down.

_Today was the day Saihara Shuuichi would find out._

He rushed to finish brushing his teeth and walked over to his closet, grabbing one of the many duplicate outfits he had. Eventually, Saihara slipped on his shoes and he was out the door in a flash, power walking towards Iruma's laboratory. He prayed he wasn't too late to pick up the watch. He remembered Iruma saying after the morning announcement, so he should've been right on time.

Before long, Saihara stood in front of Iruma's lab and took a deep breath before knocking on the metal door. A minute passed and Saihara knocked again, dread slowly sinking in his chest. On the other side of the door, he heard shuffling and a couple of swear words before the door opened abruptly. Iruma stood there with her goggles over her eyes and in her hand was the wristwatch Saihara gave her the day before to work on.

"Oh, it's you, Stupidhara. So you came afterall," Iruma laughed.

Saihara stood there with a blank face. He thinks he missed whatever joke she was trying to tell.

"Y-Yeah. Just like you said, after the morning announcement," Saihara explained and watched Iruma take her work goggles off and sat them on top of her head. She reached out, grabbed Saihara's hand and began clasping the watch around his own wrist. Saihara didn't interrupt, and watched as she pushed a couple buttons on the side of the watch and then stepped back, letting go of Saihara's hand. He looked down at the watch and saw the square screen turn on, a white box with nothing else on the front.

"There! You're welcome, Dumbhara! Now you can thank me by dropping to your knees!" He heard Iruma demand from in front of him, and he was taken aback. His eyes widened as he looked up at Iruma, who stood there with her arms crossed and grinning.

"W-What?! T-That wasn't part of the d-deal, was it?!" Saihara exclaimed, watching as Iruma backed down and raised her hands in defense.

"Heeee! I-It was... just a joke... fuck sake..." her tone changed to a timid one, and Saihara almost felt bad. He knew Iruma was a bit of a wimp when it came to people talking back to her, but he didn't expect with his stuttering words that it would work that time.

"Um... anyway. So about the watch, does it really work? You really made it into something that can tell if someone is lying?" Saihara brought his free hand under his chin, looking curiously at the watch. It didn't seem to be doing much, so he wandered what kind of improvements Iruma made to it.

"Of course it works, shit stain! You doubt my Ultimate talent as the gorgeous girl genius inventor, huh?! I did exactly what you asked for. I call it the 'Biliengual,' and it will react to any and all spoken lies!" Iruma explained, putting her hands on her hips proudly as she talked about the watch. Saihara calmly ignored the stain comment with a blank expression.

"Now Ouma's dumb lies will be exposed instantly. He can't stand a chance against this thing!" She laughed while Saihara continued to investigate the watch.

He tried searching for an on and off button, but couldn't find one. He tapped the screen waiting for something to happen, but when nothing did, he heard Iruma groan obnoxiously at him.

"It's already on, dumbass. If you don't trust me, lie right now for a test run," she spoke boredly, and Saihara felt an embarrassed blush spread across his face.

"O-Oh. Right now...?" He questioned, but when Iruma didn't respond, he decided to give it a go anyway.

"Erm... Momota-kun is not easy to scare."

Saihara spoke into the device and watched for a moment as a loading symbol appeared in the middle of the screen. In the next second, the watch vibrated against his skin and a word was displayed for him to see.

**LIE**

Saihara wasn't sure whether to believe the device after just one question, but he also wasn't going to underestimate Iruma's inventions. They hadn't failed him or his classmates that far into the game yet.

Yet, he decided to ask the same question again, but reword it.

"Momota-kun is easy to scare."

The watch took a quick second to load, and once again after the vibration, there the words showed up on the screen.

**TRUE**

Saihara decided to trust the invention; and that thought alone made him smile.

_Finally... With this, I can finally pull away Ouma Kokichi's veil of lies._

Saihara's thoughts were interrupted with Iruma's loud groan. He peered up to see her rolling her eyes.

"Told ya it'd work. Now stop gawking and let's head to the dining hall. I'm fucking starved, I was up all damn night working on this for you! You better appreciate my good looks and golden brain, Pooichi," Iruma exclaimed with a finger pointing at Saihara, her other hand on her hip. She glared at him, and Saihara simply nodded with a smile on his face.

"I appreciate it, Iruma-san. A lot. Um... yeah, let's go to the dining hall," Saihara replied, and turned on his heel to start heading towards the stairs. Iruma followed closely behind. He tried to hide the smile on his face, but it was impossible.

He was excited. Excited to learn some truth to Ouma. Maybe Saihara would finally be able to tell some difference between the truths and lies, and have a better understanding of Ouma in general.

Saihara and Iruma walked up the stairs out of the courtyard, past the dorm rooms and towards the dining hall. They stepped up to the double doors and walked in, seeing not a singular person. _Maybe it was still too early and no one had come by yet...?_

It wasn't long after the two of them arrived that they heard the door open behind them. To their surprise, it was Ouma Kokichi. _Convenient..._

"Oh! Didn't expect to see Saihara-chan and Iruma-chan together in the dining hall so early! What are you two doing?" Ouma's grin was as bright as ever. He gave a short wave and walked up to them, his eyes twinkling with the most innocent look Saihara had ever seen. To Saihara, it felt like the boy was doing it on purpose just to get him riled up, but he had to stay calm. It was the perfect time to see how well the 'biliengual' really worked.

"Hey, Ouma-kun. Nothing really. We just came by for something to eat, but I guess we're a bit earlier than normal... How about you?" Saihara asked, and Ouma's face dropped with a raised eyebrow.

"Hmm, I just came by for the usual morning meeting. I'm not actually hungry," the boy replied, shrugging his shoulders. Saihara was about to let the comment slide, when he felt the watch vibrate softly. He glanced down to it, and saw the word ' **LIE** ' displayed across the screen.

His eyes widened slightly before looking back at Ouma. He couldn't tell if Ouma knew something was off with Saihara's reaction, but he tried to remain cool. "Um... really?"

Saihara watched Ouma's face drop further. _So it was a lie... of course._

"Whaaaa? Saihara-chan, are you an esper or something? I was actually about to starve to death, so I came here for the food!" The smaller boy's head cocked to the side as he spoke, taking a step closer to Saihara.

Once more, the watch on Saihara's wrist vibrated, and it read ' **TRUE**.' Just as Ouma was getting closer, Saihara tried to carefully hide his hand out of sight. He put both hands behind his back.

Not long after, he heard Ouma add, "Oh! The 'to death' part was a lie, though." The boy grinned at Saihara as his hands came up to rest behind his head.

Saihara sighed, his heart beating faster with every passing moment. _He could really see through all of them... All of Ouma Kokichi's lies were being exposed through a singular invention Iruma made._

He turned towards Iruma who had walked towards the kitchen area, looking at the options they had for food.

"I really want ramen. Haven't had that in so goddamn long," Iruma said, her fingers grazing across her chin as she studied the different ingredients lined up. Most of their food was already premade by Monokuma, but some meals had to be prepared by themselves.

Saihara agreed to the idea, and Ouma piped up with a nod as well. "I was really wanting some ramen, too!"

Saihara's watch vibrated, and it read ' **LIE**.'

_Did Ouma really have to lie about that...?_

He glanced up to see Ouma giving him a small smile, and Saihara couldn't help but smile back. Just as he did, Ouma turned on his heel and went to sit down in one of the dining hall chairs. Suddenly, the doors to the dining hall opened, and a couple more people walked in. Yumeno, Kiibo and Shirogane. They were all talking amongst themselves before waving to Saihara, Ouma and Iruma, greeting them with a smile. Shortly after, Harukawa, Momota and Gokuhara came through the doors, smiling and immediately getting involved in the conversation between everyone. Harukawa and Momota exchanged morning greetings with Saihara, and asked how he slept the night before. He had a short conversation with the both of them, before they went to sit down at the dining table. Saihara noticed Momota and Harukawa purposefully ignoring Ouma, but the supreme leader didn't seem to care. His eyes were glued to Saihara, which in return, Saihara felt his cheeks flush red.

He decided to sit down next to Ouma, crossing his arms over his lap under the table and thinking of what he should ask the other boy. Questions that would get Ouma's lies revealed. Before he could begin talking though, Ouma started the conversation. His smile towards Saihara never left his lips as he began talking about the most bizarre topics. Things that even Saihara didn't care much for, but he felt the watch vibrate every time Ouma finished a sentence, the word ' **LIE** ' being displayed each time. Saihara made sure to keep his hands hidden beneath the table to keep Ouma from seeing the watch light up. He didn't know how suspicious he was being, or if Ouma had caught onto something was up. But oh boy, Saihara was already exhausted. In just a few minutes of their food being prepared, Ouma already lied nearly _that_ much. Saihara didn't think he could keep up much longer, but as soon as Iruma came around and passed a bowl to both him and Ouma, the purple haired boy stopped talking and began shovelling food into his mouth. He really _was_ hungry... Saihara wondered how many times Ouma had lied in the past about not being hungry, but then possibly gone to the dining hall when no one was there and eating as much as he could...

Iruma sat down in the empty seat next to Saihara, the last one to sit at the table. Everyone was enjoying their meal, and Saihara thought he should eat as well.

He only got a few mouthfuls before an idea clicked in his mind. _Of course... why hadn't he thought of it sooner?_

Ouma Kokichi's talent. The organisation he constantly rambles on about with over ten thousand members. Supposedly. The evil work he's involved in and how many companies he can control. How much of it was true? How much of it was a lie?

Saihara Shuuichi was about to find out.

"Hey, uh... Ouma-kun?" Saihara spoke softly as he turned his head towards Ouma. The small boy glanced over, hummed in response and tried to swallow the food he had just put into his mouth.

Saihara scratched the back of his head due to nerves before clearing his throat. "Um, so... what exactly does the organisation you lead do?"

Ouma's eyes were hard to read, but he watched the boy grin in response to the question.

"Ahhh, is Saihara-chan finally wanting to enroll?" Ouma cried out and leaned on the table over his bowl, resting his head in his hands. He stared back at Saihara with a smug look.

Saihara stuttered, "Uh, n-no... it's not that. I was just wondering... what you do."

Ouma sighed dramatically. He took his head out of his hands and sat up straight, shifting in his seat before looking over at Saihara with a blank face.

"Sure. I'll tell you everything you wanna know."

Saihara raised an eyebrow, not breaking eye contact with Ouma. He knew the lies were about to come pouring out, but at least Saihara could mark things off the list in his head of what Ouma actually did regarding his talent. The possibilities would grow smaller, and Saihara could deduct from the lies what may be the truth. The truth behind the Ultimate Supreme Leader.

He waited for a response from Ouma, but the other boy was just smiling. An innocent smile. Suddenly, Saihara felt his wrist being grabbed from under the table. He jumped slightly and let out a small gasp at the sudden touch, watching as his arm came into view. Ouma was holding Saihara's wrist. The wrist with the watch attached.

"Riiiiiiight after you stop using this."

The two boys never broke eye contact, and Saihara felt his heart pumping harder than it was before he asked the question. It was clear Ouma was referring to the watch. _Of course he knew about it..._

"Uh..." Saihara didn't know what to say. He was speechless, and almost a little embarrassed. Ouma continued to hold Saihara's wrist in his hand, his grin growing wider by the second.

"I see Iruma-chan is still making useless junk for us to play with. Is this why you've been spending so much time with her and not me? You're so cruel, Saihara-chan!" Ouma's facial expression changed quickly to a frown, and he began to cry. Crocodile tears. Sniffling and shaking Saihara's arm lightly, Saihara watched in shock.

"I-It wasn't like that, Ouma-kun," he tried to reason with the purple haired boy, but to no avail.

The tears stopped and Ouma's expression changed within a flash once more before Saihara could finish his sentence. Eyes closed, Ouma smiled softly, tilting his head slightly. Saihara could feel the atmosphere grow warm. Normally, he couldn't tell if Ouma's reactions were genuine or not. But for once, he felt like the smile Ouma was giving him, was real.

Ouma let go of Saihara's wrist, and suddenly it was cold. He silently wished for Ouma to grab his hand again, just as the supreme leader opened his eyes again to look back at Saihara.

"Saihara-chan, you're so adorable! But if you really wish to find out more about me, you gotta deceive me for yourself! Not rely on equipment made by trashy cum dumpster's," Ouma brought a finger to his lips and smirked. Saihara blushed due to the first comment Ouma made, and decided to ignore his remark regarding Iruma. Although, the girl was already speaking up.

"H-How many times are you gonna call me a c-cum dumpster, shithead?!" Iruma piped up and slammed her hands on the table.

The act alone caused everyone in the room to glance over at Saihara, Ouma and Iruma. Saihara could feel the eyes on him and he wished he could disappear; anywhere. He knew how red his face was, and he _really_ wished he could steal Ouma's lying ability to mask his blush.

Out of the blue, Ouma reached out a hand and grabbed Saihara's chin softly, pulling himself in closer to the detective. Saihara yelped, his vision filled with only Ouma, but he didn't pull away. "O-Ouma-kun!"

The distance between the two boys was short. Saihara could definitely feel everyone's eyes on him in that moment, the blush only growing more on his cheeks. He didn't even _want_ to think of what Momota and Harukawa were thinking at that moment.

The sight of Ouma was mesmerizing, Saihara couldn't lie. His deep violet eyes stared into Saihara's, their breath swirling together as the room grew quiet. Saihara knew Ouma liked to play tricks on him, but in that moment, it felt less like less of a trick, and more of a pull at his heart strings. Saihara was oblivious for the most part, but he knew when Ouma would casually flirt with him, and he knew not to take it seriously. But with Ouma holding his chin so delicately in his hand, and looking directly at Saihara with the softest look he had ever seen, it felt like the truth. No lies visible.

Saihara felt like he'd been sitting there for hours, and it wasn't until Ouma started speaking that it brought him back to reality.

"I believe in you, Saihara-chan! If you're up for the challenge, that is," Ouma winked with a menacing grin and let go of Saihara's chin, pushing back his chair and standing up. He stretched his arms up high, and all Saihara could do was stare in disbelief. _Did that really just happen? In front of everybody?_

Ouma glanced around the room, seeing everybody's eyes watching him. He waved to them.

"Well, that was a nice breakfast! See ya!"

And with those words, Ouma lifted his arms up to rest behind his head, turned on his heel and headed out of the dining hall doors. Saihara stared after him, watching the door close slowly. He didn't dare look anyone in the eye, keeping them fixated to the table. He felt his face burning up quickly.

When he started hearing voices talk amongst themselves, he let out a long sigh. He hoped everyone would forget what happened and take it as another typical Ouma distraction. A small chuckle left Saihara's lips.

"Of course he figured it out..." Saihara whispered to himself, just as he heard Iruma groan loudly next to him.

"That little rat! How'd the fucker find out?!" Iruma exclaimed, leaning her head on the table in defeat with a blank face.

Saihara guessed she had heard what he said, so he regained his composure and responded. "Ouma-kun has always said he can tell when others are lying... so he might have known about the biliengual from the start. Whether he saw it or not."

Saihara glanced back at the dining hall doors Ouma walked out of. He wondered what the supreme leader was up to; where he'd gone. Wondered if the boy was also thinking about what just happened in the dining hall, just like Saihara. Ouma liked to flirt playfully with Saihara, but sometimes, it felt like more than just Ouma teasing him. It felt like it meant something, but Saihara always told himself that Ouma was just an incredibly good liar. The purple haired boy was hiding his true self, and Saihara so desperately wanted to learn who the real Ouma Kokichi was.

Maybe he should listen to Ouma's advice.

_'But if you really wish to find out more about me, you gotta deceive me for yourself!'_

Saihara didn't need a biliengual. Ouma didn't want Saihara to use one. Saihara wanted to figure out Ouma all by himself, no help needed.

That was exactly what Ouma wanted.

Every time Saihara seemed to get past a lie of Ouma's, the boy would smile and look impressed. He seemed... pleased. It was like that was Ouma's goal in the first place. Even if a teasing line would come after.

Saihara sighed, pushing his bowl of food away and leaned on the table.

"If only he didn't puzzle everyone so much..." Saihara mumbled, looking at the watch still attached to his wrist. Just as he was about to take it off, Iruma pushed back her chair and sprinted towards the exit. _Where on earth is she going...?_

"Thanks, Saihara!" Iruma yelled and grabbed the doorknob, twisting it and making a break to the outside.

"W-What? Iruma-san?!" Saihara called out to her, but to no avail. She was long gone.

Saihara shook his head, and caught sight of Iruma's unfinished ramen still sitting at the table. He sighed and grabbed the bowl, as well as his own and brought them to the kitchen. He decided to take everyone else's bowls once they were finished eating too. Unfortunately, that duty came with having to face Momota and Harukawa at the table. To Saihara's surprise, they didn't bring up the Ouma situation. Momota seemed desperate to say something, but Harukawa was holding him back. Saihara was unsure what their thoughts were regarding what happened, but he himself wasn't going to bring it up either.

Saihara had good friends, and he knew that. He had to protect them, no matter what.

And with that, after setting the bowls back in the kitchen with Momota and Harukawa helping, he left the dining hall determined.

Determined to find Ouma Kokichi and find the line between lies and truths himself.

When he could get the chance, Saihara would return the biliengual to Iruma. She could do with it what she wanted...

~

**-extra-**

"Hey, Stupidhara! Got a great idea from what you said a couple days ago. I made _just_ the thing to keep Ouma from tal-"

"Don't."

**Author's Note:**

> i haven't written anything and finished it in an incredibly long time, so i hope this was okay. thank you all


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